


No One's Pearl But Yours

by Emooly



Category: Steven Universe (Cartoon)
Genre: F/F
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-10-23
Updated: 2016-10-23
Packaged: 2018-08-24 02:38:12
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,052
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8353615
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Emooly/pseuds/Emooly
Summary: Pearl is restless one night and goes to the beach to reminisce about her past with Rose. An encounter with the mystery girl shifts her perceptions.





	

Pearl can't calm herself tonight. There are probably a million different thoughts racing through her mind at this current moment and she just couldn't silence them. After all these millenia, why? Why is she still so in love with her?! She couldn't even bear to say - to think of her name. She remembered the great war thousands of years ago when the home world gems invaded Earth. Pearl would have done absolutely anything for Rose - after all, she was nothing, and her master was everything, right? Rose always taught her otherwise… she would see parts in her that she never even begun to acknowledge or appreciate. Pearls were supposed to be… subordinates. Assistants, at best. There was no way someone as lowly and insignificant as her would ever haze the peripheral vision of a grand quartz soldier such as Rose.

But she made her feel like she was worth so much more than she actually was… a real gem. Someone who deserved her attention, her time, her… love. Pearl sat on the sandy shores outside of the temple, running her fingers through the soft textures of the ground and listened intently to the sound of the waves crashing against the Beach City rocks. A light, warm summer breeze wafted gently through her peach-colored hair. The salty smells of the ocean washed up along with stray pieces of kelp and sea shells. It was so much more peaceful here on Earth. Sure, there was some minor industrialization here and there, like Empire City for example, oh and that ruckety old Earth vehicle Greg lugs around, but aside from it all, there's nature. There's tranquility. A place to think, relax, process rather than worry about the next duty or mission in home world. But it was also a place to rub salt into already closed wounds and bring up painful memories that should be more suitably tucked into the bottom of broken hearts. She wants to blame the amount of spare time she has, or how much Steven reminds her of his mother. But her sheer dedication toward Rose was always unwavering and relentless. It was a fire inside of her that she could never quite extinguish just because it was so bright and so strong.

She remembered the first time her and Rose were alone together while they were still in home world. Pearl was watching close by as Rose trained tirelessly with her sword mechanics, her hands folded stiffly behind her back as Rose advanced forward and striked the nearest quartz warrior with tremendous power. She quickly beat parried, deflecting an attack from behind and engaging in another direct. Pearl was amazed at how efficiently yet gracefully she moved, darting from corner to corner, predicting and dodging essentially every assault and sliding away from it with ease. Everything about Rose was in her eyes, the quintessential component of perfection. In every battle, she moved with fluidity and acrobatic acumen. She was delicate yet firm with her attacks, confident in her every decision in skirmish. But not only was she a fearless fighter, but she was also a dazzling leader. When the training culminated, Pearl rushed over to her to sheath her sword and store her shield.

"Y-you were amazing out there, Rose!" Pearl fawned with delight. "The way you handled all three of those quartz soldiers with such precision! And that feint attack was something that I have never seen done in a battle arena before. How do you think and fight simultaneously? It's absolutely astounding!"

"You flatter me, Pearl," Rose chuckled, still a little bit breathless from the strenuous amount of activity she just endured. "Say, how about after you store the weapons… I can give you a little test run if you'd like?"

"No, absolutely not," Pearl outright refused. "I-I'm merely a pearl. I'm not allowed to fight or do anything of the things that quartz soldiers are supposed to do. If anyone finds out, I'll be stowed into custody and… separated from you."

Rose smiled at Pearl's automatic obedience to any form of rules. She was always like that, logical and critical in her thinking, her stress always skyrocketing through the roof whenever a situation did not stick exactly to her plan. She liked that about Pearl, how she laser focused on everything she deemed important and let go of everything else, immersing herself into the task at hand.

"It'll just be a few minutes, I promise you," Rose assured. "No one will see, no one will know. It will just be me and you." She rested her chin on Pearl's shoulder, as a lock of pink curls gently poured over. "Okay?"

"A-are you sure?" Pearl questioned, turning around at the beautiful gem before her. "How do you know no will find out about this?"

"The training grounds are usually off limits after dusk," Rose contemplated. "This was the last scrimmage before everything is closed. The only gem who will be here is the peridot who will be monitoring the facility for any technical fluctutations. We'll be in and out in a flash, I promise."

"A-alright then," Pearl agreed. If Rose says so, it should be fine. The pair entered the armory. Rose stood watch as Pearl entered a code on a holographic keyboard that appeared on the entrance of the storage chamber. Two compartments opened in the wall before her, and Pearl gingerly placed Rose's shield into one. As she moved to put the sheathed sword into the other, Rose put a hand on top of hers before she could make another move.

"Not now," she commanded gently. "We are going to need this."

"We-we're using your sword?!" Pearl gaped in astonishment. "B-but this is your most trusted weapon! I could never lay my hands on this treasure in battle, it's simply not correct! Just let me use a standard sword, I insist."

"I am allowing you to use it," Rose smiled. "I know you can do it. After all, you are worthy of much more than a standard sword, my Pearl."

Pearl blushed deeply as she nodded once more in capitulation. Rose took her hand, to her surprise and lead her back into the battle arena. There was still just enough light out from Pearl to see Rose's face. It was so beautiful, and very symmetrical she might add. The pink rolls of her hair cascaded down her back and over her shoulders like water, and her dainty white dress swayed from side to side with every step. Pearl held tightly onto Rose's sword. It was actually a lot heavier than it looked, and took a lot of effort to hold onto sturdily.

"Let's start with your stance… shift your feet so it's shoulder-apart," Rose instructed encouragingly. Pearl obeyed immediately, making the necessary adjustments to accommodate the pink-haired beauty before her.

"That's perfect!" Rose complimented, clasping her hands together at Pearl's improvements.

Pearl flushed berry blue at her words, she never even deemed herself deserving of such praise. "Th-thank you," she muttered apprehensively. "What's next?"

"Okay, now move your leg so that you body is a positioned forward," Rose said, as Pearl immediately changed her posture.

"That's great!" Rose beamed. "Now, let's move onto your first hit… take the sword and strike the air in front of you!"

Pearl does just that, moving her body with a great amount of effort and doing as she is told. The evening continued with Rose teaching her a combination of different basic tricks, and Pearl making small adjustments in order to follow. No matter how exhausted she was, she did whatever to make Rose smile. Her gem wasn't constructed so that she could lift heavy objects and fare well in battle, so her tiredness was definitely not misguided.

"A-are you alright, Pearl?" Rose inquired, finally noticing after several rounds that Pearl's movements weren't as pronounced as they were before.

"Only a little bit," she replied. "But I can keep going! Do you have another lesson to teach me?"

"Let's take a break," Rose countered. "You look like you need one!" It wasn't Rose's forté to take into consideration the feelings of others. She was so lost in her own thoughts that it was hard for her to take notice the situations that other gems were going through. It wasn't really her fault - she was just such a whimsical and preoccupied gem that it was difficult for her to concentrate on the emotions and feelings of those around her. But when she did, she did whatever she could in order to make the ohter gem feel comfortable.

Pearl nodded in response to Rose's suggestion, as the two migrated to the armory and stowed the sword away. As the pair walked out of the practice facility, Pearl gasped at the sight of the gorgeous night sky. She liked to call her it own personal window into the universe. She loved the sight of space so much - she could spend hours and hours on end gazing out into the stars and wondering what else was out there.

"Pearl… do you ever think about the life on other planets?" Rose asked wistfully out of the blue.

"Not really," she responded honestly. "They are, after all, our primary sources for gem growth and nourishment. We need to harness the nutrients on other planets to invest into our kindergartens."

"But how do you think the people who live on those planets will respond to that?" Rose questioned. "We are taking what isn't ours to use for our advantage to grow the diamond authority. But what for?"

"I guess you do have some point," Pearl considered thoughtfully. "We are using the habitats of organic creatures for personal gain, but in the longrun, the diamonds are doing the universe good, right?"

Rose shrugged and sighed. "I guess that is what they will have you believe.." She sat on the ground outside of the training grounds and patted the spot next to her, inviting Pearl to join her. "But I do know one thing… it is a beautiful night out."

Pearl nodded. "I couldn't agree more." She suddenly noticed how close she was to Rose… their skin just barely grazed each other's and she could smell her heavenly scent… rose water - the most pure fragrance of them all.

She immediately jerked her head away when Rose noticed that she was scootching a little bit too close toward her, giggling quietly to herself at Pearl's sudden realization. She turned her head the other way, pretending to be fixating on something else before directing her attention back at the night sky when Pearl regained her composure.

Little did Pearl know that this small conversation would impact her life so much.

Pearl once again snapped back to the present moment, wiping away a few tears that began to bead in her eyes. This is so stupid, reminiscing about a past that was literally eons ago. Rose is gone. She's never coming back, and Pearl knows this all too well. So why is she dwelling so much on this one gem? The only gem that completely changed her view about the world and herself and made her feel so special and wanted and needed and… perfect. It wasn't fair that she didn't become hers.

Pearl sighs and decides to take a walk around Beach City. It was so quiet at nighttime, usually every single and home would be darkened by 9 PM. She heard the twisting of a water faucet and the sound of several frustrated sighs. Whipping around, she suddenly found herself before It's A Wash, Greg's car wash business. The stocky, heavyset man was fiddling with the hose… it seemed to Pearl that he was trying to figure out how to turn it off.

"Pearl!" Greg shouted, waving his arms to catch her attention. "Can you help a guy out? I am going to hate my water bill if I don't turn off this hose anytime soon."

She was hesitant. Pearl never had a strong relationship with Greg to start with. It was always laced with awkward murmurs, turned away heads, forced conversation. Of course part of it was about Rose, but it was also because the two never really saw eye-to-eye no matter what. It was always apples to oranges, black to white, agreement to disagreement. But Greg needed her help right now, and despite their rocky friendship, his car wash is going to shut down if she didn't do something.

"Let me see…" she whispered to herself, kneeling before the handle on the faucet. She saw that a loose nail was about to fall out, and immediately asked for Greg to fetch her a screwdriver. He hurriedly flung himself into the garage and came out with several. Pearl took the smallest one and twisted the nail tightly back into place. Turning the faucet, the water from the hose immediately subsided.

"Thanks Pearl!" Greg laughed with a tinge of embarrassment. "I always knew you were good at all that fixing and building stuff, but I never knew you could make something work again so fast. I don't know what I would have done if you weren't here."

"Uh.. y-you're welcome Greg," Pearl nodded stiffly. "If it weren't for Rose I wouldn't know how to use a hammer, heh.."

"Yeah!" Greg chuckled along, picking up on the growing tension and discomfort in the air. "Rose really knew how to do those kinds of things, I guess."

A pungent silence gripped the exchange, and was immediately released when the two spoke simultaneously.

"So I'll-"

"I think I'm going to-"

"Alright!" they surrendered at the same time.

Pearl spins around on her heel and walks in the opposite direction, cursing under her breath and hating herself for making a fool of herself again in front of Greg while he wipes down the car he was just washing.

Like Pearl was saying, her relationship with Greg was tepid at best. Their lukewarm dialogues always veiled their relentless protectiveness and affections toward Rose. When she first laid eyes on him, she thought he was the stupidest little man. He was tiny, only slightly towering over Amethyst and dwarfed by her, Garnet, and Rose. Some human on Earth he wants to make a name for himself by writing rock songs or whatever he does. He apparently "dropped out of community college" to pursue his dream. Pearl hated him vehemently. He was small, pitiful even. And so, so dim-witted! What did Rose, this gorgeous, majestic, magical lady ever seen in him? What did Greg have that Pearl just didn't? Pearl could be funny, she could sing, she could tell jokes! She could do and be whatever Rose wanted her to be. If only she gave her a chance…

Pearl was so angry that fate dictated her position… this torturous purgatory between two people who deserved and loved each other so much. She wanted so badly to be happy for Rose, she really did. But, how could she? Greg would take Rose to the beach, show her his world. This boring, elementary planet he called Earth, yet Rose took the bait. She wanted to know more about humans and their feelings and how they interacted with the world. Sure, they were different from gems by being organic life forms with the need to feed and rest with increasingly shortened lifespans and intellectual capabilities, but were they so distinctive from each other that Rose could listen to Greg drabble on about his life experiences for hours on end? Were they so interesting and fascinating that Rose could be away from the crystal gems for days, weeks maybe traveling to all sorts of different places and hearing Greg go on and on and on about his thoughts and opinions and beliefs about this world? This… this stupid stupid Earth? Pearl was so enraged and jealous at their closeness that she wanted to beat it, like it was a competition. When Rose somehow convinced her and the crystal gems to help Greg film his little music video, Pearl thought it would show him that he as a human could never connect with Rose the way gems could. So… she fused with her as Rainbow Quartz. It was the most beautiful experience in the world. They were connected on a metaphysical level. She was able to dance and move and feel emotions and thoughts she never would have been able to as Pearl. Pearl also thought bitterly on the night Greg made that conspicuous show out of the mobile stage. He made the bright floor glow pink, and he invited Rose to dance with him. She has never seen Rose so lovestruck, so infatuated, so head-over-heels for anyone before. Pearl knew, in her core, that they were intimate and romantic soulmates, and there was nothing she could do about it. They were, as the tales liked to say, "star-crossed", if you will. She realized that a human and a gem could go beyond the intimacy of a fusion, at that point. And this thought angered her beyond any trip that Greg would take her on or any conversation that they would have. It boiled inside her and seared so deeply into her conscience that it left a wound's scar that would never quite disappear. But in the end, despite all of the passive-aggressiveness and the pointless competition between her and Greg, Rose chose him instead, and loved him, and left.

Pearl found herself back at the beach. She must have walked for a long time, considering how she made loop from the temple to downtown Beach City back to the shores. From the corner of her eye, she saw a pink-haired woman making her way toward the waters. At this hour? Pearl would think that most humans would be asleep by now. But she kept walking, and was moving closer to Pearl. Pearl automatically recognized her as the mystery girl. She reminded her so much of Rose… the confidence, the figure, the hair. It almost felt like she was a piece of Rose.

"H-hi!" Pearl blurted out clumsily, as the mystery girl passed her, smiling sweetly and nodding to acknowledge her. And at that, she was gone. Just like Rose.

Pearl's heart immediately swelled. Even if Rose could never love her, truly, maybe she could start afresh with someone who revived her.


End file.
